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Col. James Keefe, commander of the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National guard announced Thursday evening the missing named male F-15C pilot remains have been found in the plane wreckage. (DAVE ROBACK / THE REPUBLICAN)
(dave roback)

WESTFIELD - The pilot killed in the F-15C crash in Deerfield Valley, Va., never ejected from the crash, the commander of the 104th Fighter Wing announced Thursday night.

Base commander Col. James Keefe disclosed the information during a briefing for the press outside the base just after 10 p.m.

"This is devastating day for the 104th," Keefe said.

The plane, en route to New Orleans for a radar upgrade, crashed in an isolated area of Virginia near the George Washington National Forest just before 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. The last contact with the pilot was around 9:05 a.m. when an undisclosed malfunction with the aircraft was reported.

Keefe said the search and rescue mission was transitioning to a search and recovery mission.

Remains of the pilot were discovered at about 5 p.m., he said. He said fire at the crash site delayed the search at the scene. "When our team got to the crash site it was still very hazardous."

Keefe said the base is not disclosing the identity of the pilot until the family is notified. The name is scheduled to be disclosed on Friday.

"We're giving 100 percent support to the deceased pilot's family," he said. "We are grateful for all the support we have received, from the city of Westfield, the kind words we have received."

The investigation is ongoing. Investigators are looking for the flight data recorder, which will help answer questions about what happened leading up to the crash.

The investigation could take up to three weeks, he said.

Last aircraft crash at Barnes was 1999, but the pilot survived, he said.

"Flying fighters is a dangerous game," he said. He said the base's pilots are "cream of the crop in the United states. Highly trained and highly motivated," he said.

He thanked the hundreds of people who aided in the search for the pilot in the remote section of Virginia where the crash occurred.

Hundreds of people from state, local and federal agencies searched the area surrounding the crash site for the better part of two days.

At a separate press conference in Virginia, Brig. Gen. Robert Brooks, commander of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, said investigators determined the ejection seat was still within the wreckage of the aircraft.

Officials will now conduct a safety investigation with a goal of identifying why the jet crashed. That, he said could take several weeks.

He said it was unclear when the remains of the pilot would be returned to Massachusetts for a funeral but said "we bring every airman home."

Brooks thanked members of the community in Virginia who aided in the search and offered help and support to those doing the searching. He also thanked the many state, local and federal agencies who worked tirelessly over the last two days.